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Fleetwood Windows & Doors

When Fleetwood Windows & Doors builds a product, it maintains a focus on quality during every step of the process. “From the time the material arrives to when it’s ready to get packed up, we have quality control people verifying everything,” COO Mark McCoy says.

The company maintains this focus by employing a team with a strong belief in its approach. “I’m proud of their creativity and their unrelenting pursuit of building a perfect product,” he adds.

Corona, Calif.-based Fleetwood manufactures modern-style windows and doors for coastal luxury homes. McCoy explains Fleetwood started the company in 1961 with the goal of building the only nine-foot-tall sliding door for luxury homes.

Up until that point, he explains, the market only saw doors that reached the height of eight feet. “We had the vision of creating the strongest sliding door, especially for the Hollywood area where modern architecture was demanding larger lites of glass,” McCoy says.

Its founders chose the name “Fleetwood” for the company, after the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham luxury vehicle. “The Fleetwood was symbolic of luxury,” he says. The company grew its product line into more sliding doors, windows, and hinged and pivot doors for contemporary luxury home architecture.

“It’s a pretty vast offering,” McCoy says, adding that the company’s products are also eco-friendly. Fleetwood makes its windows and doors from recycled aluminum and glass, with inert coatings and finishes.

The company is the only one in its class that designs and manufactures specifically for the luxury home market. “Most others dabble in luxury but that is our focus. Part of that focus is to work with specialized dealers and we therefore only sell to boutique dealerships,” McCoy adds. “It’s all centered around maintaining and promoting the brand.”

Fleetwood has a broad reach. “Wherever there is affluence and a desire for contemporary architecture, you’ll find us,” he says, noting that the company has showrooms in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean as well as throughout most of the United States. “When setting up showrooms, we usually zero in on an area that appreciates what we offer.”

Continuing a Legacy

McCoy is a longtime veteran of Fleetwood. As his father has been its owner since the 1980s, “I grew up in it,” he recalls, explaining that he worked in the factory and made sales books during the summers.

After graduating from college with a bachelor’s degree in management, he returned to work in Fleetwood’s sales and architectural departments. “I stayed within that range until a handful of years ago, when I took over the company,” McCoy says.

Fleetwood’s success is largely due to its commitment to be “the Cadillac of sliding doors,” he says. “My purpose [has been] really not only to perpetuate that brand and its strength, but augment it with additional products.”

The family ownership also sets Fleetwood apart. “We’re the only one in the industry not driven by profit,” he asserts. “We don’t have a board or shareholders that are demanding dividends. Instead, we get excited about reinvesting our successes into the company to benefit our customers and employees.”

Doubling Up

Fleetwood has watched its competition increase as other companies try to imitate its products. But the company sets itself apart by offering products that can incorporate large sheets of glass, allowing its customers to take advantage of the scenic views in their homes.

“The best way to exploit a gorgeous view and keep the weather out is glass,” McCoy says, noting that there are only a few companies in the world that can install large pieces of glass in products that work in a residence.

Fleetwood also sets itself apart going the extra mile. “We try to master these little things our competitors will take for granted,” he says, noting that this has driven the company to build its own components for its doors and windows.

“If you’re a profit-driven company, you don’t make your own hardware,” he says, noting that other firms usually have third parties make the components. “We’re proud that we’re unique and that we appeal to discriminating buyers.”

Fleetwood plans to maintain that commitment as it grows. In the next three years, the company plans to double its business, but without compromising its focus on quality.

Instead, the company will focus on improving its operations, which recently included a multi-million dollar investment in automation and infrastructure. Now, “[We’re] able to produce our elite luxury products a little more quickly,” he says.